Monday, May 1, 2017

A Message From the Executive Officer

To my fellow DeMolays and Advisors in Pennsylvania:

Hopefully, the news had reached you that "Dad" Tom
Labagh, who has been serving as Executive Officer for 17 years, decided to step
down, and chose me as his replacement. I thank "Dad" Labagh for
his many years of leadership, and hope he continues to serve DeMolay in a
different capacity!

For those who may not know me very well, I wanted to
introduce myself (don't worry, I won't rattle off a laundry list of honors and
awards!)

The main reason that I agreed to accept this position was
because of how much DeMolay meant to me as a young man. When I joined
Elizabethtown Chapter, I was a shy 13-year old, who had a fear of public
speaking. Because of Advisors like "Dad" Berry, "Dad"
Freedman, and "Dad" Ray, I learned how to overcome that. I went
to college in Ohio, so I never had the opportunity to serve as a State Officer,
but even so, the DeMolay experience was incredible.

Since I turned 21, I've done everything in my power to make
sure DeMolay continues to grow and thrive. When I graduated from college,
I took a job with IBM as a software engineer, which required me to move to
upstate New York. For 12 years, I worked with Orange-Rockland Central
Chapter, as their Ritual Advisor, then later Chapter Advisor, then later
Chairman of the Advisory Council. Hands down, my most satisfying work has been those years
working at the Chapter level, because I got to mentor DeMolays for a long
period of time, seeing them mature and improve just as I did!

I've always tried to remain active with Pennsylvania
DeMolay, and that includes an active streak of 19 years being on the Key Man
staff, and helping out as an Advisor with Elizabethtown Chapter as best I could.

I'm very thankful to be taking on this role with a strong
support system in place. Pennsylvania DeMolay has an incredible set of
dedicated Advisors, and unparalleled Masonic support. We are already one
of the strongest Jurisdictions! My vision as Executive Officer is to
change some policies, and rework the state-level staff organization, to ensure
that every Chapter gets the help it needs, and that we provide the best
possible support to the DeMolays and Advisors.

Over the next couple of blog posts, I'll be announcing those
staff changes, and I strongly encourage you to attend Convention, where I will
announce my policy changes. For the Advisors, there will be a Q&A
session with me at Convention after those changes are announced, so I can hear
your feedback.

Each one of us -- whether a DeMolay or an Advisor -- is a
volunteer, working towards a common goal: to help Pennsylvania DeMolay grow, and to make sure it is around for the next generation of young men! I hope to do
exactly that, with your help. Thanks for everything you have done, and
will continue to do, in that spirit!